Condolences pour in for CRPF jawans

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday condoled the death of nine CRPF personnel in naxal violence in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district and said the country remains firm in its resolve to take on and defeat all forms of terrorism.

Nine CRPF personnel were on Tuesday killed after Maoists blasted their mine protected vehicle using over 50 kgs of explosives.

"Anguished at the attack in Sukma, Chhattisgarh. India salutes the CRPF personnel who lost their lives while doing their duty to keep us safe.

"Condolences to the bereaved families. We remain firm in our resolve to take on and defeat all forms of terrorism," the President's official Twitter account said.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who spoke to Director General of CRPF Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, expressed his condolences over the killing of the personnel and

I bow to each and every security personnel who attained martyrdom while serving the nation, tweets Rajnath

said "my heartfelt condolences to the families of those personnel who lost their lives in Sukma blast." The home minister has directed Bhatnagar to leave for Chhattisgarh.

He said the IED blast at Sukma was "deeply distressing".

"I bow to each and every security personnel who attained martyrdom while serving the nation," Singh tweeted.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, condoled the death of CRPF jawans on his official twitter account, and said "...it reflects a deteriorating internal security situation due to flawed policies.